The number of Cladosporium conidia in the air in different weather conditions

Abstract

The effect of varying weather conditions on the hourly number of airborne Cladosporium conidia was studied in forest environments during three summers. All factors having diurnal periodicity correlated significantly with the number of spores. Because of the great variation in weather and the interaction of weather factors, the most important factors were not the same for each summer. Temperature was important in each year. Relative humidity was most important in the first rainy summer, and precipitation was more important during the two drier summers than in the first summer. The maximum spore counts were obtained at the onset of rain, indicating the effectiveness of the first rain drops in detaching conidia. The amount of water precipitated also promoted the production of conidia, since it correlated positively with the number of spores in the air several hours later. Spore detachment also seemed to be closely related to decreases in relative humidity and increases in wind velocity which occurred in the morning. An increase in wind velocity from 0.5–1.0 m^−s increased the number of spores most effectively.